Sure, there is a reason I put it in quotes... I do think that smiles are genuine, and most Russians just don't get it. They are genuine in a sense that they show at the least a general willingness to be well-disposed and polite to you. What more can you expect from a stranger? Russians usually smile only when they feel a genuine emotion towards something, that's why they mostly don't get smiles from strangers. That's one reason I feel very gloomy mood in a Russian neighborhood - I remember when I was looking where to rent my first apartment in Toronto - everybody was very concentrated, sad faces, no smiles. Rude attitudes. And then I saw some smiley faces on some scary criminal-looking noisy Russian guys on a BMW, in Adidas sport clothes, lots of golden chains... I thought "No, thank you very much. I'll look somewhere else". Well, it was 13 years ago... Maybe things got better since...
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2013-11-13 06:32 pm (UTC)